Passage of Prop. 30 gives $12.3 million to Orange schools

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Orange Unified School District will receive $12.3 million more in state funding this school year following the passage of Proposition 30, district officials said.

Trustees have approved a revised budget plan for the 2012-13 school year that includes the additional funding. The district's operating budget for the current year has increased from $204.1 million to $216.4 million.

Trustees also voted at their meeting earlier this month to eliminate one of nine employee furlough days. It's still unclear if the district will add one instruction day or one teacher-training day as a result of the eliminated furlough day, officials said. Currently, the district has 175 instruction days. The typical school year has 180.

The elimination of the furlough day will cost the district about $650,000. Trustee Diane Singer said the district will use most of the additional Prop. 30 money to boost the district's budget reserves for economic uncertainties.

“This money will help us straighten ourselves out,” Singer said. “Right now, this money will help us stay in decent shape because we've been smart in managing our budget tightly.”

The district had planned their 2012-13 budget in the summer based on the premise that Prop. 30, which raises the income tax on wealthier individuals and the sales tax, would fail at the ballot.

State and county education offices had recommend that districts plan budgets based on the worst-case scenario, with the tax initiative failing. Officials said then it would be easier for districts to absorb the extra cash if the initiative passed rather than the alternative of preparing for it to pass and having to cut from budgets had the measure failed.

State law requires school districts to submit revised budget plans by mid December to the county's finance office for the current school year, along with projections for the following two years.

Orange Unified submitted a budget certified as positive, meaning the district expects to meet all financial obligations going forward.

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